Saturday, November 5, 2022 | Football, Chris Harry
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COLLEGE STATION, Texas — The frustrations hovering around the Florida football program the last few weeks have been almost exclusively limited to what's happened on the field. Yes, there was some spillover Monday with the news that defensive end Brenton Cox Jr. had been dismissed from the program, but consecutive losses to LSU and No. 1 Georgia have served as reminders to the UF fan base of the severity of the rebuild situation assumed last winter with the arrival of Coach Billy Napier.
The situation at Texas A&M is different. Some might even say a little more toxic.
The Aggies are in their fifth season under Coach Jimbo Fisher, who ranks as the third highest-paid coach in college football — over $9 million per year through the 2031 season — and over the last four years has signed recruiting classes ranked fourth (2019), sixth ('20), eighth ('21) and No. 1 ('22), respectively, according to 247 Sports. A&M began the season ranked sixth in the Associated Press poll and in Week 2 lost 17-14 at home to FCS-classified Appalachian State on a day the Aggies tallied just 185 yards and nine first downs on offense. That was Sept. 10.
Kyle Field (capacity 102,733)
Here it is, the first weekend in November, and the Aggies (3-5, 1-4), a fashionable preseason pick to reach the College Football Playoff for the first time, will play host Saturday to the Gators (4-4, 1-4), whose two-game losing streak is merely half as long as A&M's four-game skid of all Southeastern Conference games, with consecutive setbacks at Mississippi State, at then-No. 1 Alabama, at South Carolina and, most recently, last weekend against No. 15 Ole Miss.
[Read senior writer Scott Carter's comprehensive "Opening Kickoff" setup here]
In the run-up to that loss to the Rebels, Fisher suspended a trio of players from his marquee freshman signing class — defensive back Denver Harris, receiver Chris Marshall and offensive lineman PJ Williams — and the night before the game canceled a scheduled (and customary) production meeting with the ESPN crew assigned to broadcast the game. That was odd.
Fisher, in Year 5, might trade for Napier's first-year problems right about now, what with the rabid A&M fan base (those 12th men, if you will) ramping up the rhetoric. Fisher, it's worth noting has a 2022 buyout of nearly $86 million as a parachute, which is also a topic of talk-radio conversion around the Lone Star State.
First-year UF coachBilly Napiergets his first crack at Jimbo Fisher Saturday at Kyle Field.
Fisher was lured away from FSU in great part for his reputation as an offensive guru, but the natives have been restless on that front this season, with that shocking loss to App State at the top of the hit list. A&M ranks 95th in the country in total offense (350.5 yards per game), which sits 11th in the SEC, and is likely looking at UF — with the league's 12th (and No. 117 overall) defense — as a potential get-well card.
After being trampled on the ground by the Rebels, the Aggies are surrendering 205.6 yards rushing per game (that's next-to-last in the league and 120th in the country), so a Florida running game (199.0 yards per game) that has proven to the be the most effective method of attack of the offense figures to be in play for Anthony Richardson (1,638 yards passing, 7 TD, 7 INT, 414 yards rushing, 6 TD) and company.
Defensively, though, the Gators will be tested again, what with those last two opponents — LSU at home, Georgia at a neutral site — rolling up a combined 87 points and 1,088 yards.
Finally, this stat: A&M has not lost five straight games since 1980.
Someone's woes will be worse come late Saturday afternoon.
Kickoff is set for noon (EST) on CBS, with Mark Jones on play-by-play, former Heisman Trophy winner Robert Griffin III providing analysis and Quint Kessenich working the sidelines. For radio and television broadcast info, click here. The game will be re-aired Sunday at 6 p.m. and Monday at 5 a.m., both on the SEC Network. The Learfield Gator IMG Sports Network coverage, with Sean Kelly and Shane Matthews in the booth, and Tate Casey on the sidelines, will begin at 9 a.m.
Finally, follow FloridaGators.com senior writer Scott Carter (@GatorsScott) on Twitter for commentary and analysis throughout the game. FloridaGators.com will have complete coverage content on the site Saturday and fresh follow-up content Sunday, also.
